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>There were thousands of locals of one persuasion or another
Really?
You make it sound like a boy scout jamboree.
Those marchers had one thing in common - they were protesting the removal of a statue of one of the most ignominious traitors in the history of this country.
Can't say Lee was ignorant of the facts - he was a top grad from West Point.
This was no country boy looking to have some fun killing Yankees.
He consciously chose to betray the oath he had sworn and instead support the slave owners in his home state.
His decision was directly responsible for the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and countless wounded - on both sides.
If there was ever a definition of treason, that's it.

So, when someone says we need to keep that traitor's statue up, I really have to ask why.